Museum collection · Art Institute of Chicago · 4706
Relief Fragments Depicting a Winged Woman and Two Deer
Roman, Early 1st century
Art Institute of Chicago · Gift of Mrs. Edith Healy Hill · Public domain
- Artist
- Roman
- Date
- Early 1st century
- Medium
- Stucco, pigment, and gold
- Dimensions
- 45.1 × 59.7 × 10.2 cm (17 3/4 × 23 1/2 × 4 in.)
- Era
- Museum collection
Why it matters
Inside some Roman houses, baths, and tombs, multiple layers of slow-drying stucco were applied to rough stone walls and divided into panels that were then painted. While the surface was still damp, fresh stucco was applied and modeled into decorative motifs and figures, which were left white to contrast with the painted background. This relief panel and its partner (1922.4428) likely came from the same building. In this panel, a winged female figure is flanked by two deer and standing on a delicate tendril motif.